Carrying carton



. Dec. 1; 1936. w. F. FoRsTER CARRYING CARTON Filed Jan. 29, 193e 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. l, 1936 cann'YlNG oAmoN william F. Forster,chicago, ni., assigner at Atm Brewing Company, Chicago, Ill., acorporation am of Illinois Application January 2s, 193s, 'serial No.61,285

12 claims. (ol. 22o-.15)

I'he present invention relates to carrying cartons and more particularlyto the construction of a carrying carton for hand carriage of articlesof manufacture or merchandise, such for example as bottled goods.

For the purpose of convenience herein, the carrying carton of thepresent invention will be sometimes referred to herein as a tote box.

'Ihere are on the market at the present time,

1o tote boxes for like purposes wherein such a. box

.is provided with a slidable partition member having a handleprojectable through a slot in the box cover to provide means 'forcarrying the box and its contents. Usually such boxes are made of 15fiber board, straw board or like material and the tendency, in suchboxes when carried and supporting the entire weight of the box and itscontents on the handle and its integral partition, for the partitionmember to force the cover outwardly from closed position and oftentimescompletely opening the cover spilling the contents of such boxes.

An object of the present invention is to provide a tote box of thecharacter mentioned wherein displacement of the, cover from closedposition, due to the lifting and carrying of such box, is prevented.

Another object of. the present invention 'is to provide a. tote boxhaving a cover, with flaps for underlying the cover when closed, whichflaps are hinged to the box in angular relation to the cover hinge, inorder to transmit the lifting load of the box to the box in a planedened by the hinges of the cover and flaps and thereby prevent anytendency of the cover to open. That is to say,

the lifting load is applied to the box in a plane which is substantiallyperpendicular to the direction of lift. A further object of the presentinvention is to provide, ina tote box of the character mentioned, flapsunderlying the cover to provide bearing surfaces along the handle toprevent its bending or tilting toward the cover hinge, when the box `islliftedby the handle, and thereby prevent displacement of the cover fromclosed position.`

Another andfurther object of the present invention is to provide, in atote box adapted for containing articles of merchandise, such as bottledgoods, and wherein a shiftable partition member provides compartmentsfor the goods and at the same time is fashioned with a handle whichprojects through the cover of the box when closed for carrying purposes,with means, such as aps, underlying the cover, when closed, so that 5the 11n-ing ioad is transmitted to the box in more than one direction,to thereby prevent accidental displacement of the cover fromclosedposition incidental to carrying the box.

The above, other and further objects of the present invention will bereadily understood from 5 the following description and accompanyingdrawings.

An embodiment of the present invention is i1- lustrated in theaccompanying drawings, and the views thereof are as follows: 10

Figure 1 is an isometric view of a carrying carton, or tote box, withthe cover in closed position and the handle projected for carryingpurposes, constructed in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention. Y 15 Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view through 'I the boxof Figure 1, taken substantially in the plane indicated by line II-lI ofFigure 1, showing in full lines the partition nested or within4 v thebox, and in dotted linesythe position' occu- 20 pied by the partitionwhen it is raised to project the handle for carrying purposes.

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken between the inside of thecover, when in closed position, and the flaps, as indicated by line 25III--III of Figure 2. y

Figure 4 is a fragmental vertical sectional view through a box somewhatsimilar to the present invention, and showing the tendency to open thecover ilaps when the partition is raised to project the handle forlcarrying purposes, and showing the partition member slightly cantedwithin the box.

Figure 5 is an isometric view. of the box of the present invention withthe flaps and cover 35 opened, and the partition member in its lower;

most or'nested position.

Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along theangular line'VI-VI of Figure 1, showing the relationship of certain of49 the parts when the box is closed and the handle projected forcarrying purposes.

The drawings will now be explained.

The form of. carrying carton, Vor tote box, chosen to illustrate thepresent invention is here- 45 in shown as substantially rectangular withside walls I, 2, 3, and 4, a bottom 5 and a cover 6 which is formed asan integralpart of the side Wall 4 and hinged to it by means of a crease'l between them. The margin of the cover 6 oppo- 50 site to its hinge isprovided with a tuck-in iiap 8 scored along line 9 to fold for Ytuckinginside the opposite side wall 2, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2.

'Ihe cover 6 is Provided with an elongated slot 55 n for o. purpose toAbe later. explained. The notv Il, is, in its length, provided withilngerenlarg'ementslI. I

In order to divide the interior of the into a plurality of compartments,a shiftable partition member A is provided. In the present instanceVthis'partition member comprises a longitudinally extending vertical,multi-ply ilberstructure VI2.

aooaasr annoovoroenneplanewhichperpendicular to the height of the box sothat all 0f the'liftinl and a plurality of longitudinally spaced 'erosVflush. more orless, 'with the cover 3.

To receive the' cross members I3. of

of the cross members I3 will be substantiallyv flush with thecorresponding edges of the member I2.

The width of the slots being substantially the same, or slightly lessthan, the thickness of the interfitting parts, squeezing action takesplace and thus the cross members I3 are vconnected to the member I2 withsufcient tightness to transmit the lift from the member I2 to the crossmembers I3.

As the box is herein illustrated, the member I2 of the partition extendslengthwise of the box so that Aconsequently the handle Ila extendslengthwise of the box. 'I'he slot III in the cover, therefore, extendslengthwise of the cover.

Hingedly'connected to the side walls i and 3 are flaps I I andI5vrespectively. These flaps are scored adjacent the sidewallsl and 3 tohinge from the position shown in Figure 5,-open position, to closedposition orffolded position, such as is illustrated in Figure 3. Thelength of these flaps may be substantially half, or slightly less thanhalf, the length of the box. Each of the flaps Il and..l5 is providedwith a slot I6 through which the handle rita projects. 'Ihe slots I6 inthe flaps I4 and 'I5 bear against the side margins of the handle Ilaaifording additional bear` ing surface for the sides of the handle. Theprovision-ofthe slotted apa'as mentioned, provides'guideways for thehandle s o that the bearingsurfaces ofthe sides of thehandle against theside margins of the slots I6 as well as against' the side margins of theslot I in the vcover 6, serve to prevent the handle bending or tiltingwhen the box is grasped by the handle andA lifted forcarrying'purposes.- As a result, therefore, the handle is not bent ortilted, nor is the partitionniember tilted, .thus 'preventingdisplacement of the cover 6 from its closed position.

By reason Vof the factthat the flaps Il and I5 are hingedly connected tocertain side walls of the box body in right-angular relationship to 75the hinge of the cover 6. the hinges of the .naps

upper margin ofthe handle will be substantially the snirtable partitionmember A, the longitudinal mem` in such a manner that the lifting loadis soeven- `-lydistrilmted against the under surfaces of the .s .7'flaps Il and lithatthereisnotendencypresent for displacing the cover 6from its closed posiof the boxbears against thc` 'naps' I4 and I5adjacent the hinge connections 10 thereof with their respective sidewalls and also L: againsttlile cover I along its hinge connection"witnits sidewall l. 'me angularroiauomnip or connections ofthe flapsand cover...

`therefore prevents any tendency to apply the l5`liftingload'totheiiapsandcoverinanyother than a direction. This featurespreads thellftingload overa-considerable area,

'equmnng it, and thus suoi-ding a tote box or carrying'cartoninwhichthere is no danger what- ,20

soever of accidentally displacing the cover from closed position,incidental to carrying the box by its handle. f

Figure 5 illustrates the boxiofv the present invention open ready toreceive its contents, such as bottles. Y In this condition the partitionmember is nested or lowered against the bottom 5 of the' box, the flapsand cover open, ready to receive the. box contents. Where such contentsconsist of bottles, the bottles are inserted in the various compartmentsB, the flaps I4 and I5 are `then folded to overlie the interior of thebox, the cover 6 is then folded over the flaps and the tuck-in flap 8tucked in between the inner surface of the side wall 2 and the adjacentmargins of the flaps I4 and I5, thus closing the box.

The box is now ready to be carried.

When carried, a person inserts a nnger through the enlargements II oftheslot III of the cover and pulls up the handle Ila to project it throughthe slot I0 .in the cover. Such upward movement of the handle raises thepartition member so that the upper margins of the cross members I3 ofthe partition member bear against the under sides of the flaps I4 and I5and the central or longitudinal member I2 of the-partition member bearsagainst the flaps lengthwise of the same.' Such arrangement transmitsthe lifting load to the naps Il and I5 throughout an extended surface.The extremities of the cross members I3 .of the partition member,adjacent the side wall l of the box, bear against the flaps I4 and I ladjacent the hinge connection of the cover 6 to its side .wall I. Theextremities of the central member `I2 of the partition member bearagainst the under surfaces of the flaps Il and I5 adjacent the hinges ofthese naps to their side walls I and 3, thus transmitting the liftingload to the hinge connections of the flaps and cover and distributingsuch loa'd over an extensive surface. The result is that when the box islifted the lifting loadY the ilaps I4 and I5 are omitted.

is distributed equally throughout the surfaces of 6a adjacent its hingeI9 thus tending to tilt the partition member C and bending the handleI1.

Such tilting of the partition member tends to kick Vmit the cover iofrom its fully closed position,

as may be seen in Figure 4, with the result that if the load be heavythere is a probability that the cover 6a may be entirely opened and thecontents or at least some of the contents of the box spilled outaccidentally.

Referring to Figure 6 the distribution of the lifting load against thei'laps I 4 and I5 is readily apparent. In this figure it may be observedthat the upper margins of the cross members I3 of the partition memberbear throughoutd their length against the under surfaces of the flaps sothat there is no tendency to displace the cover E from its fully closedposition.

The box as illustrated is preferably made of ber board, straw board, orlike material, preferably from a single sheet of such material, suitablycut and folded to provide the box illustrated and described. In order tocomplete the body, a side wall, such as the wall 3 has a short end flap20 which bears against the adjacent inside surface of the wall 4 and isthereto suitably secured, as by stitching, stapling or the like.

The carrying carton of the present invention is one that may bemanufactured economically and is one which possesses sufficient strengthfor the purpose intended and at the same time affords a convenientcarrying carton or tote box for articles of merchandise, such forexample as bottled goods.

The invention has been described herein more or less precisely as todetails, yet it is to be understood that the invention is not to belimited thereby, as changes may be made in the arrangement andproportion of parts, and equivalents may be substituted, Withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention.

The invention is claimed as follows:

1. A hand carrying carton for merchandise comprising a box having sidewalls, a bottom, and

a cover hinged to one side Wall to complete the closure; a partitionmember within said box of less height than the box and having a carryinghandle as a part thereof; said cover having a slot through which saidhandle projects when said partition member is raised; and iiaps hingedto certain of the side walls of the box adapted to lie' to apply liftingforces to the carrier in such manner as to prevent displacement of saidcover by such forces.

3. In a merchandise carrier of the type Wherein a shiftable partitionmember within the carrier has a handle projectable through a slot in thecarrier cover to permit totage of the carrier, flap means hinged tocertain Walls of the carrier to lie between said partition member andcover when the cover is closed to spread the lifting load over asubstantial surface and to prevent displacement of the cover from closedposition. 4. In a carrying carton of the type wherein a l shiftablepartition member has a handle projectable through the carton cover tocarry the carton, flap means hinged to certain of the carton walls tounderlie the cover When closed and adapted to be contacted by thepartition member, said flap means having slots for the handle vto extendthe surface contact of said ap means with the handle to prevent tiltingof the handle and consequent opening hinging actionof the andprojectable through the cover slot for carrying purposes, and slottedflaps adjacent the sides of said handle when projected to preventtilting of the handle to open the cover.

6. A carrying carton comprising a box having a cover hinged to one sidewall, flaps rightangularly hinged to certain oi' the side walls of thebox and foldable underneath said cover when the cover is in closedposition, a partition member within said box having a handle, the memberand handle being of less height than the box, said iiaps and cover beingslotted to receive said handle when it is projected for carryingpurposes, said partition member when raised bearing against said iiapsin extendedv surface engagement, the angular hinging of said flaps withrespect to the hinge of said cover transmitting the lifting load tothecover 'in extended surface contact to thereby prevent accidental openingof the cover.

7. A carrying carton including a cover hinged to a side wall of thecarton and slotted to receive a handle, flaps hinged to side walls ofthe carton in right-angular relationship to the cover hinge -v bearingsurface along the handle to prevent thev handle from tilting toward thecover hinge to displace the cover from its closed position when thehandle is grasped to carry the carton.

8. A carrying carton including a cover hinged to a side Wall of thecarton and slotted to receive a handle, flaps hinged to the side wallsof the carton in right-angular relationship to the cover hinge andfoidable underneath the cover, means within said carton providing ahandle projectable through the cover slot, said flaps serving tomaintain the plane of the handle within the plane of the vertical axisof the carton and thereby transmit. the lifting load against the 'iiaps'and cover in a direction perpendicular to a plane dened by the hinges ofthe cover and flaps.

9. A carrying carton including a cover hingedly connected to a side wallof the carton and having a slot to receive a handle, flaps hinged to theside Walls of the carton in right-angular relationship to the coverhinge and foldable underneath the cover, a shiftable partition memberwithin the carton having a handle projectable through the cover slot forcarrying purposes, said partition member engaging against said flapswhen said handle is projected, the right-angular relationship of theflap and cover hinges dening a plane perpendicular to the lifting effortand against which the load is applied to prevent displacement of thecover from closed position when the carton is lifted by the handle..

10. In a carrying carton of the class described, a hinged cover for thecarton, means within the carton shiftable toward and away from saidl esy12. In a carrying carton of the class described. a hinged cover for thecarton, separate partition means within the carton shittable toward andaway from said cover and having a projectable part to provide a carryinghandle, and means other than said cover contacted by said shiftabiepartition means when shifted to carrying position to take the liftingload oi said carton when the carton is lifted by the handle of theshiftable partition member.

wnLIAM F. FORSTER.

